Velocity
by Anime Redneck
Summary: Initial D IGPX CrossoverAU The year is 2049. The Immortal Grand Prix is the biggest sport in the world. Teams battle in giant robots at speeds of up to 350 miles an hour along sixty miles of track. The rookie team Speed Stars have just won the minor leagu


Disclaimer: IGPX is owned by Cartoon Network, and Initial D is owned by Tokoyopop. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

Velocity

Prologue

_The year is 2049. The Immortal Grand Prix is the biggest sport in the world. Teams battle in giant robots at speeds of up to 350 miles an hour along sixty miles of track. The rookie team Speed Stars have just won the minor league Grand Prix and now begin their first season in the professional IG-1. _

Speed Star team coach Yuichi Takeuchi sat in the bleachers of Akina Speedway early in the morning. He was an elder man in his late forties a short trimmed haircut about 5 foot 8, and he was worried. His team had their first professional race tomorrow. As luck would have it they had drawn the defending champion Red Suns as their first opponents, and while he had great confidence in his son Iggy, and his teammates Cole and Kenji. He still couldn't shake the feeling that it was going to be a very rough first race. Yuichi smiled as he saw an old AE86 mech fly down the track. The mechs speed and form were perfect as he executed precision turns at insane speeds.

"Same old Bunta." Yuichi laughed watching his old friend and team mechanic take a practice run fine tuning the settings his team would need for the upcoming race.

"WELCOME TO TODAYS IG-1 RACE BETWEEN THE RED SUNS AND THE SPEED STARS. TODAY'S RACE IS POINT TO POINT ON AKINA SPEEDWAY. FIRST PERSON TO CROSS THE FINISH LINE CLAIMS VICTORY FOR THEIR TEAM." Boomed the announcers amplified voice. The crowd roared as the Red Suns appeared from the hangar. "AND HERE'S THE DEFENDING CHAMPION RED SUNS. THEY'RE LED OUT OF THE GATE BY K.T. TAKAHASHI THE TEAMS FORWARD FOR THIS RACE." A yellow FD model mech walked in the lead, wide shouldered with smooth rounded armor the FD was largest mech in today's race being just under the large mech classification mark. "NEXT IS RED SUNS ROOKIE MID-FIELDER KENT DANIELS." Behind K.T. a red S-14 followed. Nearly twelve feet shorter than the FD with similar armor Kent had the smallest mech on the Red Suns team. "AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, LAST YEARS IG-1 MVP. RUNNING DEFENDER TODAY, THE WHITE COMET OF AKAGI, RY TAKAHASHI!" The crowd roared deafeningly as a white FC stepped out. Slightly shorter than the FD and with sharp edged armor.

"HERE COMES THE ROOKIE SPEED STARS." Out of the second hangar stepped two white mid size S-13 mechs followed by a larger 180 mech. "THERE THEY ARE FOLKS TEAM CAPTAIN AND FORWARD COLE IKENTANI, HIS BROTHER AND

DEFENDER KENJI IKENTANI, AND MIDFIELDER IGGY TAKEUCHI."

Up in the sky box Yuichi watched everyone make final system checks. Three large monitors showed the vital stats and mech status of the team. A small corner of each monitor chowed a cockpit view of each pilot in their plug suits.

"How's everyone feeling?" Yuichi asked the pilots.

"All fine here Boss." Kenji said.

"Just let me at em dad." Said Iggy.

"We're good to go Boss." Cole answered.

"Glad to here it boys. Good luck out there." Yuichi then pressed a button on the console and brought up the garage. "You there Bunta?"

"Yeah I'm here." A Japanese man about the same age as Yuichi stepped into view. He was tall with dark hair. His demeanor suggested a short sighted attitude, yet if you looked into his eyes you would see an inkling of the knowledge held there.

"Hey Yuichi what's up?" Bunta asked as he lit a cigarette.

"Just checking in before everything gets underway. You all set down there?" Yuichi asked.

"Yup sleds all set and ready to go. Though I doubt it'll be needed today. This race shouldn't take long." Bunta said calmly.

"That's not a very supportive attitude to have Mr. Fujiwara." Said a feminine voice from behind Yuichi. Yuichi looked over his shoulder and saw his boss, team owner Mitsuko Satomi standing behind him in a business suit with her long brown hair tied in a pony tail.

"Well if it isn't the battle axe." Bunta muttered.

"What did you say?" Mitsuko asked.

"Nothing at all Mrs. Satomi." Bunta quickly answered with a smile.

"Need I remind you Mr. Fujiwara that smoking is prohibited in the garage." Mitsuko said narrowing her eyes.

"Of course how silly of me to forget." Bunta said quickly putting his cigarette out.

"Well gotta go race is about to start." Bunta said just as the transmission cut off.

"Why do I put up him?" Mitsuko asked to herself.

"Because he's the best, ...and he's all you can afford." Yuichi answered.

"Get back to work Yuichi." Mitsuko growled.

Back in the garage Bunta closed the video link and lit up another cigarette, and ran a final check on the pit sled, which would be used if a mech needed repairs mid race.

"Hey Tak have you seen my crescent wrench?" Bunta called out to his teenage son. Tak got out from under the sled and handed the wrench to his dad. Tak was 18 years old. Tall but skinny with brown hair that framed his face.

"Here pop, I just finished the last check on the sled, it should be good to go." Tak said.

"Good son you saved me a bit of time here. Why don't you head up top. I'm sure you'd like to watch your friends race." Bunta said.

"Nah I'm not really into racing. I just don't see what the big deal is about it all." Tak said shrugging. "I think I'm gonna go take a nap."

"Suit yourself." Bunta said watching his son walk out of the garage.

The mechs lined up at the starting line. Metal launch gates rose and locked in place behind each racer. Engines revved, the crowd grew silent as the countdown began.

3. Cole nervously clenched the controls of his mech.

2. K.T. impatiently pressed the accelerator revving the turbine engine.

1. "I think I'm gonna hurl." Iggy muttered. The pressure of the race already getting to him.

The green light flashed and the mechs roared off the starting line. Sparks flying behind them as the picked up speed and began to skate across the track on their gyro blades. The Speed Stars quickly took the lead as the Red Suns eased off and took up formation behind them.

"Okay K.T. you and Kent hold formation here. We'll sit back and watch how these rookies handle themselves then we'll make our move." Ry said calmly. His eyes narrowed as he took in every detail of how the Speed Stars raced.

Up ahead Iggy took the pole point as Cole and Kenji took defensive positions behind him. "Just sit tight there Iggy. Kenji and I have you covered." Cole said over the com system.

"O-Okay Cole." Iggy answered sweat pouring down his face.

The teams went through the first corner smoothly. However when they reached the next corner and prepared to enter the first hairpin the Speed Star formation broke slightly and nearly fell apart as the team struggled through the first hairpin. The Red Suns having to slam their brakes to avoid slamming into them.

"Looks like it's gonna be another slaughter." Sighed Ry. "Kent jump forward and clear a path. K.T. take the open lane blow by these guys. Let's hurry and finish this."

"I thought you'd never ask bro." K.T. called out grinning.

"Let's do it K.T." Steam sprayed from Kents mech as it shifted to a higher gear and began rapidly gaining on the Speed Stars. K.T. trailing slightly behind.

"Here they come." Kenji warned as Kent closed in on them. "They're not passing us." Kenji turned around and adjusted to reverse so he could face The Red Suns head on. Kent closed the gap in seconds. Kenji asked out with his fist but Kent caught it and spun Kenji to the side. Kenji bounced off the wall and was dazed slightly. His monitor reasserted itself just in time to see K.T. clothesline him with enough force to take his mechs head off.

"Kenji!" Cole called out to his brother.

"I'm okay Cole, but I'm out of this race. Core stabilizer got cracked in the crash can't be fixed on the track." Kenji said disappointed.

"Don't worry about it Kenji we'll finish this race for you." Cole said.

Just then Kent got beside him. Cole charged in low bumping Kent. the two locked arms trying to overpower the other. The pair was still locked together when they entered the next Hairpin. Both rode high into the banking wall as K.T. passed easily on the inside. As soon as K.T. was clear Kent shoved Cole aside and sped up catching K.T. Iggy struggled to keep ahead as the two Red Suns quickly caught him. Without warning the pair cris-crossed and passed Iggy effortlessly. Immediately K.T. and Kent dropped into speed mode. Their mechs crouched low with their arms pointed out becoming as aerodynamic as possible. Iggy followed suit desperately trying to keep up as they approached a pair of consecutive hairpins. The three entered the next hairpin. K.T. braked hard drifting thru the turn, Kent followed behind not quite as smoothly. Iggy entered the corner and attempted the same maneuver, his brakes squealed as he slid across the track slamming hard into the wall. He tried valiantly to recover before the next hairpin but was unable and ended up slamming hard into the wall again. Iggy slammed his fist against the controls as his mech powered down due to excessive damage.

"Damn it." Cole swore as he passed by Iggy's crash. "It's not over yet."

Cole pivoted on one leg and turned to face Ry. If he wanted to catch K.T. and Kent he couldn't worry about Ry waiting behind him. He'd have to stop him now.

Ry looked up in wonder as the white S-13 charged at him. "If that's how you want end it." Cole charged in low just as he had with Kent. He was only a few feet away when Ry dropped to one knee and drove his elbow into Cole's core damaging the coolant systems. Cole's mech immediately began spraying steam before falling to the ground powerless.

Yuichi winced when he saw Cole get dropped by Ry. "Well that was quick and painful." He muttered. He looked over to Mitsuko who wore a disappointed expression on her face. "Don't worry Ms. Satomi I really didn't expect us to win our first race in the IG-1. The boys still have a way to go before they're able to compete at the level of the Red Suns."

"I know Yuichi. Still I was hoping for a better run today. We still need to attract some sponsors." Mitsuko said. She sighed as she opened a com channel to the garage. Soon Bunta appeared on the screen.

"Oh it's you Satomi. What can I do for you?" Bunta asked lighting another cigarette.

"How long till the mechs can be repaired?" Mitsuko asked, not in the mood to deal with Bunta smoking in the garage again. Bunta took a drag from his cigarette before answering.

"Cole's S-13 has the least amount of damage with Iggy's being the most. Overall I'd say you're looking at about two weeks."

"Just great. Guess we're not racing next week." Mitsuko groaned.

After the Red Suns victory the team had went back to they're hotel for a celebration. K.T. stayed at the track wanting to get some practice in. It was nearly 4 in the morning and he was still running laps foregoing the use of a simulator.

"What a horrible race today." K.T. muttered to himself. "If we keep racing opponents like that I'll never get better than my brother. Just then a set of running lights from another mech appeared on K.T.'s rear view screen. "Somebody else is out here besides me?" K.T. thought. The lights quickly gained on him. "I don't know who you are pal, but you're not passing me." K.T. floored the accelerator, but as he came out of the next corner the mech was still there. K.T. hit another corner and again the mech stayed right behind him. "What kind of mech is that? An S-13, MR-2?" The two entered another corner and suddenly the glare from the rear mech lights diminished enough for K.T. to get a good look. "No way! An 86?" The thin armored, mid-size, light weight mech cut the corner with perfect precision once again getting right behind K.T. "That's it. time to lose this guy." K.T. dropped into speed mode and the 86 followed suit. Both braked and drifted through a hairpin with only inches between them. Halfway down the straightaway K.T. braked preparing for the next corner but the 86 continued on passing him. "What's he doing? Doesn't he know that after this corner there's a tight hairpin?" K.T. wondered. Both mechs drifted through the hairpin the 86 getting almost completely sideways before cutting back around and drifting through the next hairpin. "Inertial drift?" K.T. exclaimed. He was so astonished he lost his rhythm and spun out K.T. has to switch to battle mode to keep from hitting a wall. "This can't be. No way I just lost to an old 86. Maybe that was just some ghost of a racer that died, or maybe this just a nightmare." K.T.'s hands were shaking as he released the controls. "Just who was that?"

Next:

The Ghost of Akina


End file.
